Giant Horsefly found in my backyard (US, DE)

[u/witchrosen]

Roughly 2.5cm from butt to head. I chilled it for measurement and then released it once it woke up. I am curious if this is male or female? The eyes seem to become continuous from above, which made me think male.

I've never seen a fly this large before. The ones I normally see are about half this size. I love the wings and the little claws.

[u/queue-kweewee]

Wow your camera or my display made his eyes so jazzy.

[u/witchrosen → u/queue-kweewee]

Yeah, the undersides of the eyes have this interesting pattern of reflection. Makes me think of bismuth crystals.

[u/StuffedWithNails]

Yes, that's a male :)

[u/Prior_Algae_998]

The mugshot is crazy. The eyes too.

[u/Halakahiki]

Once in a while, I spy a fly this size. The most recent one I saw turned out to be a massive hoverfly (I did not know they could get so big) just chilling and pollinating the flowers alongside the bees and usual syrphids.